Final Fantasy isn't dead since they are still making Final Fantasy games. However, it has a lot different meaning than it used to have. Square was once a company that made high quality JRPGs with the FF label being reserved for the highest quality and most cutting edge of these games. Now, FF has become more of SE's general brand of JRPG games as the company has diversified significantly and produces a more wide variety titles, such as cell phone and action games. So the FF label does not have the power or significance it once had and it is indeed 'dead' if you compare it to what it used to stand for.

SE has always been a for-profit company but I believe in the past their philosophy was 'make great games, and the profits will follow.' These days, I feel like the philosophy is more of a general 'how can we make the most money?' Sure, making quality games is still a great way to make money and they still try to do that, but it's not the sole focus and they've opened up to other methods of generating revenue, such as casting a wider net with their FF brand and having microtransactions. This has resulted in success with new audiences but their core audience has been alienated by brand dilution and movement away from their historical pricing and development models.